The opening of the Class 3A game was one of runs, setting the tone for a game where neither team could ever get too ahead of themselves based on the seesaw of the scoreboard.
Roncalli took a 5-0 lead quickly in the first, but Bellmont fought back hard to take a 12-5 lead for themselves. When the Braves jumped ahead 6-5, it was the only lead change until 2:05 left in the third quarter. In the end, the game of pushes ended up in the hands of Bellmont taking a 55-46 win to claim the Class 3A state title in their first ever finals appearance.
“We talked after [the] Warsaw [game]. We said we aren’t just here to compete, we are here to win and that was a big message to the girls,” Bellmont coach Andy Heim said.
Marianne Bleke got the scoring started for Bellmont 90 seconds into the game and the Braves would score the next 12 points of the game, finished off my a steal and score from Oni Krueckeberg with 4:16 left in the first quarter. Almost 75 seconds passed before another score as Caroline Schoettle ended the drought for Roncalli with a lamp. Another long drought for both teams went down offensively as it wasn’t until 1:48 in the first before another score was added on an Ashley Bleke free throw. Bellmont held an 18-8 lead after one.
Krueckeberg ’s three just under a minute into the second pushed Bellmont’s lead to 21-10, but the Royals pushed back, closing it to 21-15 on an Elliot Leffler three with 4:48 to play in the half. The Royals also finished the quarter off with a Reagan Turk bucket to cut Bellmont’s halftime lead to 25-21.
The two teams battle back and forth in the third, before Brennah Cerny’s three pointer with 2:59 left to a tie at 31 before a pair of Ashley Bleke free throws with 2:26 left put Bellmont back up. On the ensuing possession, Roncalli took the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter, with 24 hitting a three pointer with 2:05 left in the third. Bellmont answered back quickly, with Oni Krueckeberg picked a Roncalli players’ pocket with 1:43 left in the third, finishing with a score. It was just the fourth turnover of the game for the Royals.
Bellmont got the final look of the third with Ashley Bleke making a great cut to the rim from the wing, drawing a foul and hitting one of two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the third to tie the game at 34 heading into the final 8 minutes.
With 6:59 to play int he game, Ashley Bleke nailed a three to take a 39-36 lead, coming right after a Marianne Bleke basket. It was a long due shot for both Bleke girls, who had struggled with their shooting throughout the game, but started the fourth quarter 2-of-2 as a tandem.
Bellmont’s ability to battle down low continued to help them throughout the fourth. With 6:20 left, Krueckeberg missed a layup, but both her and Marianne Bleke got a hand on the rebound with Krueckeberg drawing a foul and hitting a pair of threes to push Bellmont’s lead back to three for the time being.
A Bleke to Bleke assisted bucket with 5:46 left pushed the lead to 43-39 as Marianne scored the bucket at the rim. Roncalli got a good look on the other end from Loeffler, but came up empty. The fourth quarter had a good ebb and blow, but proved to be a pretty physical one with the two teams battling for a state title.
With 3:51 to go, Bellmont’s strong ball movement led to a Lanie French three pointer, Bellmont’s seventh of the game, as the Braves took a 48-43 lead. Ashley Bleke stifled a Roncolli backdoor basket attempt, then took time on the other end against the Royals’ zone, but French came up empty on her three point attempt this time with 2:25 left after the Braves drained quite a bit of time off the clock; French hit three triples in the game.
Leffler went to the bench with just over two minutes to play with 22 of Roncalli’s 43 points at that point, with cramps. Bellmont took advantage, going on a 7-0 run to take a 50-43 lead on a pair of Krueckeberg free throws with 1:41 to play. The Royals got a much needed turnover with 1:05 to play as Krueckeberg dribbled the ball off her foot after being trapped by two Royals players; just the fifth Belmont turnover of the game. Leffler returned in the final minute of play but then went down again with 30.6 seconds to go due to her cramping and did not return.
With 43.6 left, after a long patient game of keep away for Bellmont’s offense against the Royals press, Marianne Bleke was found wide open under the basket for a score that put Bellmont up 52-44. From there, the Braves were able to parade to the free throw line to finish off their state title.
“It’s exactly what we said all year, these girls are willing to share the basketball,” said Heim in the postgame interview, noting how many time he heard ‘one more’ on the court. “It’s cliche as it sounds, they love each other.”
After the game, the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award was presented to Bri Converset of Bellmont, the lone senior of the Braves roster.
Bellmont finished with four players in double figures scoring, led by 13 each from Ashley Bleke and Krueckeberg, Marianne Bleke added 12 points and 12 rebounds and French scored 11. Roncalli was led by 22 points from Leffler.
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